High Intensity

A high intensity light requires a bit more planning. Again, figure out the path for the light to travel. If I step up the intensity on my Warder, it should follow more of the red lines from before and go all the way out to the weapon in the left hand.

The next step, after planning, will be to block in the light color. This will be taking the base Arcane Blue and applying it to all the surfaces that light will reflect from. Take a look at the Warder below. Arcane Blue was painted on quite liberally. Care was taken to maintain the proper paths, and to be cognizant of places where light will be blocked. Note how the light stops at points along the right shoulder pad, the face, the legs, and the arms.

When applying this base coat there are two ways to finish the "edges" of the light color. For edges where the light will naturally diffuse, like one the left arm of my Warder, I recommend feathering the edges of the paint to give it a smoother transition back to the normal base color. This will break up hard edges and will create a translucent edge that will give the illusion of fading/diffusing light. However, for edges created by shadow (light being blocked), like on the right side of the torso of the Warder, sharper edges between the base color and the light color are appropriate.

The next step is the simple part: highlight. Start mixing in white to the Arcane Blue and build highlights as normal over the blue base coat. The important trick here is that every single highlight must be aimed towards the light source. If you highlight opposite of the light source you will destroy the illusion of reflected light. Also, the brighter points of the highlights are going to be pointed directly towards the light source, and the brightest highlights will be closer to the light source. An example can be seen below as the highlights on the shoulder edges are brighter than the highlights on the left arm.

Use progressive layers of highlights, mixing in a little more white each time. Three or four is often enough. Never build the highlight up to straight white; that should be reserved for the light source only.

Here is the [mostly] finished Warder. I have finished the base, and extended the blue light to the ground using the same principles as before.

This Warder is an example of how a very powerful light source has overpowered the light pollution caused by ambient light. Reference back to the skull examples above and see how faint the light actually is. This much intensity would be appropriate if the model was in the dark, and the non lighted areas were all black... or... it is appropriate if the light source has a great deal of power.

Other Examples

The following are other examples of high and low intensity reflected light using P3 Arcane Blue.

The first is Eiryss the Mage Hunter. For this example I have both her sword and the tip of the crossbow bolt glowing. Study the pictures and you’ll notice that the bolt tip glows out along the front edge of the bow arm, and a little bit touches the cloak.

The second example is Krueger the Stormwrath. I have created the light source [again] in his palm, and created a low intensity glow that hits his upper torso and face. Others have remarked that the cloak should have some light reflected, but the cloak is noticeably behind him, so any reflected light would be unnatural.

The final example is a high intensity Woldwarden. You can see how the main Arcane Blue color was blocked out and then highlighted up. Note things like the left shin, where the right knee ends up blocking the path of the light.

Conclusion

I strongly recommend taking some time to look around at the world and watch how light is cast onto objects. Direction and intensity. Those are the two things to remember about painting reflected light. It’s easy to fake, but with a critical eye it can be even easier to create effects that are natural and realistic.

Good luck and good painting!

-T-